Case report. Legionnaires' disease. A review of clinical aspects of 18 sporadic cases.

An increased incidence of sporadic or isolated cases of Legionnaires' disease has been identified. A 68-year-old male with lobar pneumonia is reported in detail and clinical aspects of 17 other cases from the literature are summarized. Important epidemiologic factors remain to be resolved, but a pattern of diagnostic criteria, clinical course, and therapeutic response similar to the epidemic incidence emerges from this collected series to guide the alert clinician.